PATRIOT HALL NEEDS FIXING.

Byline: TROY ANDERSON Staff Writer

Los Angeles County supervisors on Tuesday approved preliminary renovation work for the 80-year-old landmark Bob Hope Patriotic Hall downtown, but balked at approving the full $43 million project.

The supervisors voted 4-0 to spend $165,000 for architectural and engineering services, but delayed transferring money from the general fund to pay for the entire overhaul and a 400-space parking structure.

``This is an awful lot of money for something that just came out of left field,'' Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said. ``We haven't spent ($43) million to fix a building since I've been here -- and we have a lot of buildings to fix.

``I'm not prepared to appropriate ($43) million in general-fund dollars to fix this building without a careful analysis of the costs and without looking at alternative funding measures. Just because this year we have the money, next year we may not.''

The 10-story Romanesque-designed hall, with a vaulted arch in the lobby, was built for veterans in 1926 and is home to military memorabilia, artifacts and documents from the American Revolution through the recent Middle East wars.

But in recent years the familiar sight has begun to crumble, said Chief Administrative Officer David Janssen.

``This is an issue we have struggled with for seven or eight years. The boilers, the elevators, the electrical systems, the infrastructure of the building is slowly collapsing,'' he said. ``It ... has never been renovated. They also have a serious parking problem.''

The 115,000-square-foot hall, listed on the California Register of Historical Resources and eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, houses the county Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

Originally, veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic, Indian Wars, Spanish American War and World War I used the facility, which was designed by the Allied Architects Association.

Over the years, the building has deteriorated and its mechanical, electrical, heating, cooling, ventilation, plumbing, fire suppression and telecommunications systems are failing. The parking lot has only 100 spaces.

Supervisors directed Janssen to prepare reports on the renovation's environmental impacts and the impacts of temporarily relocating hall occupants to county-owned office space on Grand Avenue.

Final plans for refurbishment are expected in late 2007. The renovation, if approved, could be completed by late 2009.

``A lot of this involves seismic safety,'' said David Sommers, spokesman for Supervisor Don Knabe. ``It's a registered landmark that has served the veterans' community in the Los Angeles region for decades.

``Much of this work is to bring it up to code ... so Patriotic Hall will be in a position to serve the veterans' community for decades to come.''

But Yaroslavsky said he wants to know if renovation costs can be reduced and if any grants are available to help fund it.

``This could end up being a $100 million project,'' Yaroslavsky said. ``I'm not sure we want to spend $100 million to fix this building.''

Supervisors expect to receive a report in four to six months providing a more accurate estimate of the project's cost as well as funding alternatives.

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com

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(1 -- 2) The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is deciding whether to allocate $43 million in renovation for the historic 1929 Bob Hope Patriotic Hall. Patriotic Hall is a veteran's memorial building built by the county of Los Angeles in 1929.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer